Union Official Says He's Not Welcome At Jail

Union official Arnold Mack said yesterday he has been barred from Northampton County Prison for "rabble rousing."

Mack said supervisor Mark Seymore escorted him from the jail when he tried to meet with a corrections officer to discuss grievance procedures.

The incident happened yesterday morning, Mack said. He said Seymore told him Warden A.S. DiGiacinto notified District Council 88, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, that he was no longer welcome at the prison.

The warden accused him of discussing union affairs with correction officers - members of AFSCME's Local 2549 - during working hours and of "rabble rousing," Mack said.

Mack, assistant director of the council, is in the midst of negotiations for a new contract between the county and the union.

Mack said he will file an unfair labor practices complaint with the state Labor Relations Board.

He said he believed the warden's letter stemmed from correspondence Mack had with attorney Frank Danyi, president of the prison commission. Mack told Danyi that he believed prison authorities were favoring other employees over union members.

Mack said he also has accused the county of unfair labor practices because it replaced a retired union member in the sheriff's office with "someone they claim is an exempt employee."

The post was certified as one to be filled by a union member in 1979 and the county "can't arbitrarily and capriciously" change the category, Mack contended. He says the county says that it can, under the home-rule charter.